A4 1.8t or IS250 or c180

[Edison]

IS250 was recently going for $125K-$127K for certain colors as they clearing old stocks (2007 though), now price went up to $135K as latest badge comes with auto lock feature or something. But GS300 is quite cheap now at $161K..it may make picking up the C200 at $155k hard to decide.

[Mbris250]

<320i in my personal opinion is like a poor man's bmw>

 

haha.....that's the 1st. Most will say that IS250 is the poor man's BMW.

[Magfocus]

Actually, have no reliability issues with the 320i, even though its made in SA. Says on the tag at the door "Made by BMW". The coupe however, says

"Made in Germany" Can't really tell the diff, build quality wise.

[Edison]

How can IS250 be a poor man's bmw when it isnt't a bmw at all

[Relagsingh]

heh.. of course have to be 'made by BMW' lah

 

outlook i can agree that we can't really tell... but its the bugs within... so far so good for the E90 320...

[Mbris250]

okok.....IS250 is the answer to a poor man's BMW. clearer? BTW, before any bashing goes ahead....I own an IS250 as well.

[Falc]

More like answer to smart man's BMW 4 cylinder.

[Magfocus]

..but they didn't say "made in SA"

[Relagsingh]

hmm... come to think of it, a more appropriate model to compete with the is250 will the the 323i or the 325i.

[Relagsingh]

so far i only know SA good for rugby, cricket and charlize theron.

Edited October 15, 2007 by Relagsingh

[Falc]

But price wise, think is250<320i?

[Relagsingh]

around the same for the base models.

 

IS250: better engine, more equiment.

320i: always hear from people that can haggle off a lot for the price. if really so, good value due to the strong OMV.

[W210k]

I had the chance to take the 4.5 yrs old IS200 (total stock) along the same stretch. Bodyroll can be said to be non-existent if you compare it to the 320i & IS250. It's of superb build quality.

 

I can agree with you that the previous IS200 has almost non-existent body roll. It was such a joy driving around tight bends, or even along sweeping curves.

I owned it for 3 years and never regretted, but had to move on to a larger car, due to family needs.

 

The ECT-Power button must be always engaged to get the fun out of the engine (all 155 BHP of it and to stretch the gears at each cog). Driving without ECT-power on is like night-and-day. And no, its not the same as the 'normal' Japanese car Overdrive-Off, which basically prevents the gears going to an over-drive ratio, typically the 5th gear ..... in fact, its more akin to Audi's 'Sport' mode on the Tiptronic, where it up-shifts each gear later in the game.

 

The IS has a very super rigid chassis and stiff suspensions .... on bumpy roads, it may be a bit jarring though. But I liked the way the IS handles and its composure around bends, compared to the E46 6-pot then, thus I went with my heart, and not the badge.

Edited October 15, 2007 by W210k

[Edison]

I have never drive an IS200 before, you mean the IS250 has taken a step back from IS200 in terms of the handling of the car? Really surprise that it can even beat the E46 in that department.

[Mbris250]

do a test drive of the IS200. You'll be pleasantly surprised...so much so that you'll wipe BMW off the top of the handling list. OR same ranking at least.

 

IS250 is better in soaking up the road bumps than the IS200. So yes, it has taken a step back in handling. Guess you can't have your cake & eat it.

Edited October 15, 2007 by Mbris250

[Mbris250]

hmm... come to think of it, a more appropriate model to compete with the is250 will the the 323i or the 325i.

 

I agree...engine to engine. But price is heaven & earth.

[Edison]

Hmm..just wondering why lexus or toyota corp didnt build the IS250 with such handling prowess otherwise the car could be near perfect. Any complains about your IS so far ? i just took delivery for about a mth.

[W210k]

My post was not comparing the IS200 vs the IS250. Never did.

It is just a statement of first-hand experience, having owned the former for 3 years.

 

As for the E46, I test drove it (toghether with the IS) 3 times each, the last test drive for each car lasted about 30 mins each (upon request), to completely convince myself which car handles better ... before I made my decision to buy.

 

Am not saying the BMW is not good (in fact I am driving the X3 now), but the IS' pluses drew me to it. Its handling and the engine's audible feedback at high rpms especially.

The 318's engine then was a 4-pot ... can't compare.

Besides the handling compario, I find the then 320's 2.2L not as refined and made the E46 more nose-heavy, compared to the slightly better (nearer 50:50) balanced 318, but which lacked grunt.